The World Race, this life full of constant travel and goodbyes and discomfort, is exhausting. Especially after 7 months.
Thailand was a beautiful month full of adventure and community and the most amazing Thai food that I’ve ever tasted. But it was also a month of instability and in-between. Over the entire month of March, I’ve slept in 11 different places including a tent in the village, the floor of a bus, beds in a hostel, and a church.
Honestly, I’m exhausted.
Jesus brought me to the end of myself, which just makes it that much easier for me to proclaim that I am only continuing by the strength of God, because my own strength ran out a long time ago.
Thailand lit a fire in us, both me and my team. Our hosts loved us so well and continually showed us the importance of relationships. They didn’t push to get as much work out of us as possible, but instead prioritized a relationship with us and demonstrated how much they cared about us as people. We got far too little time in Fang, Thailand but it was one of the hardest places to leave.
I, and many of my squad mates, are exhausted and starting to lose the fire and drive we had at the beginning of the Race. Thankfully, our month in Thailand helped remind us why we started the World Race in the first place. The love we were shown by the community we encountered in Fang, Thailand was a beautiful thing to rest in last month.
My teammate Morgan shared with us this awesome story of Gideon from Judges 8. Gideon was on his way between battles, leading his army of 300 men. They had already defeated the Midianites, but God still had more battles for them to fight. God had stripped the army down to only 300 men so that no one would be able to deny the power of God in giving them victory. In verse 4 it says that, “Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it.”
We’re at a point in the Race now where we can either choose to give up or cross the Jordan. God has plenty of battles that He still wants us to fight. We signed up for 11 months of the World Race, not 7. Our flights home are already booked and the end of the Race is in sight. Now is the time to either press in deeper or check out.
I know that God still has plenty more for the last 4 months of this Race and being exhausted is no excuse for missing out on that. God invites us to rest and then press in deeper, to Him and this wild and crazy life that He has for us. For the rest of the Race, I’m going to find my rest in the Lord and continue pursuing all that He has for me.
